XMen 3
by amberness
Summary: My version of how the third movie will go. Updated almost daily.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: And and all X-Men characters do not belong to me. Now I have to go and have a good cry . . . However, the characters I made up my ownself do belong to me. I'm actually one of the characters. She'll make her appearance in the third chapter if I'm not mistaken. A Miss DeLeigh Martinez. Although DeLeigh is my middle name. Anywho . . . 

Rating: PG-13 for language, voilence, fight scenes, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Note: I'm a big supporter of Rogue and Gambit, like it should be. So don't get pissed when you see me tweaked the Rogue and Bobby relationship. It was meant to be. So bite me. Please RR

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**Chapter One**

_There were white masked men and women everywhere. They surrounded him. Needles and scalpels and who knows what else were in their hands. He had thought that they had thought he was sleeping. But no, now he knew they didn't think that. He was wide-awake and they knew it. They were operating on him and he was wide-awake. But just wait one second. Saying they were operating on him wouldn't give the word justice. No, they were picking into him. Ripping him wide open. There were livid scars all over his body to prove that. He could feel the pain. What were they putting into him? He looked around and saw people standing around with clipboards in their hands. They were taking notes. With mounting horror, he saw that they were taking notes on HIM. He closed his eyes and opened them again, wishing everything would be normal. No such relief came to him. The pain was now growing more intense. He could almost hear the darkness calling his name as he fought to stay conscious. He cried out, pleading with them to stop. He didn't want this anymore, whatever he had agreed to. He just wanted them to stop. But they only laughed at him. They knew he could heal. They knew he would survive. They wanted him to be able to remember everything they did to him. One of the masked men moved closer to him, his scalpel gleaming in the light overhead. He knew what the masked man was going to do. He was going to slice his face open now. The man continued to bare down on him, the scalpel coming ever closer to the man strapped down on the table . . ._

'NO!'

Logan, code name Wolverine, awoke with a start. Cold sweat was pouring down his body. His white tank top stuck to his chest. He gasped for air as he remembered his surroundings. That wasn't too hard. He was on the floor and his room was in shreds.

_There was that dream again_, he thought bitterly to himself as he looked around at the damage he had done. _The same dream I keep havin' constantly every night since I've bin here . . ._

Bits of pillow and pieces of the sheet covered the floor. This was the fourth time it had happened in one week. His mattress was ripped to shreds. He massaged his left hand over the spaces between his knuckles where the claws extended while the dull pain of them faded away. He had done a number to the floor as well. He leaned back on the wall he was closest to. He sighed as he shut his eyes. After fifteen minutes, it was apparent that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. He knew exactly what time it was, as usual. He didn't have to have a clock to tell him either. It just came natural to him. It was now 2:57 in the morning.

Deciding that he didn't want to see the white masked people again in his dreams, if he ever did go back to sleep, he got up and headed downstairs. As many times since he had gone down to the kitchen, he could have walked there blind-folded. He silently made his way to the kitchen and smelt someone before he entered.

Rogue had been up since 1:00. She sat on one of the chairs in the kitchen. She had a soda bottle in her white-gloved hand and her back to Logan. As he silently padded in, she would have never known he came into the room until he stopped short to see whom he would be sharing the kitchen with tonight.

She turned around. 'Oh, hey Logan.' Her southern drawl could not go unnoticed.

'Hey,' he answered her back as he made his way to the refrigerator. Rogue smiled silently as she saw the disgusted look on his face when he surveyed what there was to drink.

'There's some soda in the very back,' she offered. He looked deeper and found a six-pack of Dr. Pepper. He pulled the whole pack out and made his way to the other chair.

'Couldn't sleep?' she asked as he popped the bottle open and sighed.

'How could ya tell?' Logan asked before taking a drink.

She looked at him more closely. 'Somethin' wrong? You're drenched in sweat!'

'I'll be fine, darlin',' he assured her in a tone that meant all too clearly that he didn't want to talk about it.

They sat in silence for a while. Rogue played with her bottle top.

'So, this the place everybody goes to if they can't sleep?' Logan wondered, breaking the silence.

'I dunno. You've been down here numerous times. You tell me,' Rogue said as Logan smirked.

'Heard Charley's got us another mission soon,' Logan said.

'Really? Does that mean Bobby and I can come too?' she asked.

'I'll ask,' Logan replied.

Just then his ears picked up a set of footsteps coming their way. His smelling picked up a peculiar scent that he recognized instantly. Rogue turned around and saw it was Jean Grey. She felt her way to the kitchen; her eyes strangely milky, lacking pupil and iris.

'Hello Rogue. Hello Logan,' she said as she moved to the refrigerator, just slightly feeling her way to it.

'I'll get whatever you need,' Logan offered, since he was closest to the refrigerator.

'That's quite alright. I'm fine,' Jean said as she reached it.

_Sometimes I wonder if Miss Grey is really totally blind. By a glance, she walks and acts almost as a normal person would,_ Rogue thought suddenly.

_And may I remind you that I tap into people's visual receptors and use them as surrogate eyes to actually "see" my way around,_ a voice inside Rogue's head said.

Jean then appeared from the refrigerator and smiled gently in her direction.

'I'll never get use to that!' Rogue said as she smiled and blushed.

'Sorry, but I'll leave you two to your conversation,' Jean said as she made her way back down the hall with a water bottle in her hand.

Logan was silent.

'Why do you act that way around her?' Rogue wondered before she could think about stopping herself.

'What're you talkin' about?' he asked gruffly.

'Well, um, what I meant was . . .' she said as she tried to explain, but she was sure she was only making things worse with every word. 'I just think you act differently towards her when she's around.'

Logan didn't answer her back.

'But now, since she's gone, I guess it doesn't really matter,' Rogue said.

'What?' Logan asked sharply as he looked up at her. Her white streaks started to fade into red, just like the rest of her hair. Her face changed, along with her body. He was now looking at Jean Grey where Rogue once sat.

'It doesn't matter anymore, right Logan?' her haunting voice questioned.

'The hell?!' Logan muttered as he shot up.

_It was a double dream . . ._


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: Alright, I didn't really understand the one review I got. Sorry O.o Although I saw you were confused. Yeah, the first chapter seems to confuse some people. Hope this clears it up! I must admit, I'm terrible with accents unless they're mine own (living in Louisiana, it's about the only accent I'm good at). So do excuse me!

**Chapter Two**

Logan was drenched in sweat. He looked and saw that he was on the floor. Fluff and pieces of mattress were everywhere, namely in his hair. He brushed some off his sweaty shoulder. He looked around and pinched himself. He was still there. He let out a huge sigh and closed his eyes. He opened them back up again and saw that the floor around him had deep gashes in it. He rubbed the last of the dull pain out of his knuckles. He sighed again and then got up rather stiffly. He realized he had done a number on his own self as well during the double dreams, but his healing factor was taking care of that. He looked for his clothes and headed to the shower. Burning hot water shot out at him, but he liked it that way. He stood there and let the hot water beat down on him as he thought about his dreams. She had been in one of them _again_.

It had been six months since he and the other X-Men (including Professor Xavier) escaped the Alkali Lake Industrial Complex. Six months since William Stryker's death. He could have been the only man that had answers to all of Logan's questions about his past. But it was all gone now. No one could have survived the dam spill. And speaking of dam spills, it had also been six months since Jean Grey's heroic death as well.

Logan beat himself up inside when he thought about how he could have done something that might have saved her. Apparently, she was thinking the same thing down in her watery grave. She hadn't stopped haunting his dreams for a while now. He could only imagine what Scott's dreams were filled with. He got out of the shower with her still on his mind. He sensed it was 3:30 AM. He dried off and put his clothes on, deciding to head down to the kitchen. Thankfully, he was the only one there at this time of night.

When he was on his fourth Dr. Pepper, it was 4:15. He got up, carrying the other three empty bottles and threw them away. He picked up his fourth one and left the kitchen, going the opposite direction of his room.

Outside the stars were shining brightly. The half-moon was up in the night sky, watching the world as most of its population slept. Logan quietly opened one of the double doors of the X-Mansion and stepped into the night air. He gazed up at the night sky and leaned back on the door, closing it with a snap and sighed again.

_I gotta do somethin' 'bout those dreams . . ._ he thought.

_Somethin' . . ._

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Rogue woke with a bolt. She was in the kitchen. She looked at the clock on the wall. 7:30 AM. She looked around and saw the half drunken water bottle by her arm. She remembered coming down here around 4:30 because she hadn't been able to sleep. Bobby Drake was getting some orange juice from the refrigerator. She yawned as he poured himself a glass. 

'Morning sunshine,' he said as he saw she was up.

'I probably look nothin' like it,' she said as she stretched.

'You're beautiful anytime,' he assured her as they both smiled. 'Orange juice?'

'When I come back. I gotta go change,' she said as she ran up to her room.

Ororo Munroe, code name Storm, was on her way to the entrance for some fresh air. As she opened the door and the sun shone down on her shocking white hair and dark skin, she was surprised to find someone lying on the other door with his back against it.

'Logan?' she called softly to him. The slow rise and fall of his chest told her he was sound asleep. One hand was on his stomach, holding the half finished Dr. Pepper; the other rested on the ground.

She bent down next to him. 'Logan?' she repeated, this time accompanying her call with a touch to Logan's shoulder that carried with it just the gentlest shock of electricity.

'Uh!' Logan gasped as he jumped. At the same moment, the hand holding the Dr. Pepper sprouted three metal claws with a _snikt!_ He was on his feet at an amazing speed.

'I did not mean to startle you,' Storm said. She had jumped all the way back into the Mansion.

'Well, that's what I get fer lettin' my guard down.' With a _snakt_ the claws went back to their housing.

'You look tired. Everything okay?' Storm asked.

'Is anythin' ever? Where would Charley be 'bout this time?'

'Probably in his office getting ready for a class.'

'Thanks darlin'.'

Storm let Logan in and then went outside herself.

With the forgotten bottle still in his hand, Logan headed for Charles Xavier's office. He knocked on the door twice.

_Come in Logan,_ a rich English voice said inside his head.

Logan opened the door. Xavier was behind his desk in his wheelchair. Ever since Logan had first arrived, he had been in that wheelchair. Logan had never known why he was confined to it. He didn't ask and Xavier never told. Nonetheless, Xavier was in a nice crisp suit, as usual.

'Good morning, Logan. Something bothering you?'

'Why don't you tell me?'

'I've told you countless times before. I don't pry into other people's minds whenever I feel like it,' Charles said as he wheeled his wheelchair closer to Logan.

'I've bin havin' dreams,' Logan admitted.

'All kinds of people have dreams.'

'Not all kinds o' people dream 'bout themselves bein' ripped opened with steel bein' put into 'em! I doubt anyone would, but at least it's all jus' a dream fer those few weirdos that do. It never really happened to 'em! An' it's not jus' that that's hauntin' me . . .' Logan drifted off.

Charles studied him as he shifted the Dr. Pepper bottle back and forth and knew what was haunting him without even reading his mind.

'We've all been drastically hit by Jean's death, you know that Logan. Some more than others, I'm afraid. What do you purpose I do?'

Logan sighed. 'I want ya t'read my mind.'

'We've been through this before. It's not all that easy. The mind is fragile thing. Do you really think that there would be something different than before?'

'There might be. We had a deal though. Jus' like before. You promised we would talk.'

'And so we have,' Charles said as Logan shook his head in disagreement. 'There are some things you need to find out on your own.'

'That day I first came here, you said you would help me. I need ya t'help me!'

There was a pleading tone in Logan's voice that Charles never knew he possessed. He looked at him closely. Logan felt like he was being x-rayed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Logan growled in annoyance.

Kurt Wagner, code name Nightcrawler, came in. Unlike many mutants that could hide their powers and what they truly were, Kurt was not one of them unless he had an image inducer. He wore a regular t-shirt and blue jeans, but under his clothes was skin that was blue-black. He had thick, curly indigo hair, gleaming yellow eyes, sharp white teeth and a long blue tail that ended in a pointy spade shape to top it all off.

'Sorry to interrupt, Professor, but ve have some nev arrivals,' Kurt said in his thick German accent.

'Arrivals?' Logan questioned.

'Vell, I should say old arrivals. Some of the children are back. There are some nev ones as vell,' Kurt explained.

'Tell them I will be done shortly,' Charles said.

'Yes, sir.' And with that, Kurt disappeared with a BAMF.

'So now what?' Logan asked, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice.

'I will go down and see them. You can go and try to repair your room as much as you can.'

'I don't need t'clean. I need answers.'

'And we will see to that at another time,' Charles said.

Logan looked as if he was about to argue otherwise.

'How about you meet me here tomorrow at noon? Does that sound all right?'

'Yeah,' Logan muttered as he turned to leave. Charles followed him out and pressed a button on his wheelchair, making the door close behind him with a snap. Charles went one way and Logan another.


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Note: Thank you all for the replies, here's another chapter :)

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**Chapter Three**

Downstairs there were about sixteen people. Eight of them were Xavier's. The other eight were new. Peter Rasputin (Colossus) had managed to keep together his group that had escaped the night of the Mansion invasion. Out of the seven new ones though, two looked out of place with all the kids. Nightcrawler recognized one to be Henry McCoy from the television. He was in his late 30's or early 40's and he was fairly tall with glasses. The other one Nightcrawler had never seen before. This one was quite the character. He was tall and in his early 20's. He had bright red eyes, like a demon's and auburn hair. All fifteen looked at the Professor as he wheeled towards them.

'Good morning everyone,' he said cheerfully.

'Good morning, Professor,' Peter said. 'I was rather surprised to see err, Kurt here. He took us all by surprise.'

'Yes, we have had new members and a few have been taken from us. You'll find that you missed a lot since you were gone.'

'I had to make sure it was safe to come back. It's habits I have.'

'And they are excellent habits to have, Peter. I will always greet you with open arms.'

'We had some that tagged along with us.'

'That's quite all right. It's always a pleasure to get new people. Why don't you eight go up to your rooms? You'll find that you still have the same rooms, that hasn't changed. I'll welcome our new guests.'

The eight of them started to make their way to the stairs.

'If we're causing you any trouble-' Hank started.

'Think nothing of it, Mr. McCoy.'

'Just Hank.'

'Well, Hank, if you don't already know, I'm Professor Charles Xavier. If you are curious, I am a telepath. Rest assured that you have made the right choice coming here. Those of you who are still in school will find that we have classes daily. You'll have others your own age as you've probably guessed. You can learn here, be accepted by the others, not feared. Now, I suspect that you may have many questions, but I would first like to learn everyone's names.'

'Well den, I'm Remy LeBeau,' the early 20's something guy said in a thick New Orleans drawl. 'But if you big telepath guy, it would be easy jus' lookin' in our mind an' learnin' our names from dere, non?'

'One of the first things you all need to know about me is that just because I have the power to read your minds doesn't necessarily mean I will,' Charles said as he smiled.

'I'm David Townsend,' a boy piped up. He was about 13 at 5'6 with blonde hair and blue eyes.

'I'm Draven Anderson,' a boy about 16 said. He was 5'10 with black, shoulder length hair and brown eyes. He was sporting a black Slipknot shirt.

'I'm DeLeigh Martinez,' a 16-year-old said. She had black hair with red streaks in it and green eyes. She was 5'3 and she and Trey were the only two in solid black and had chains. She sported a Atreyu shirt.

'I'm Carrie Lash,' a girl the same age said. She had shoulder length hair with brown eyes and she was 5'7.

'And I'm Drake Godwin,' a boy about 18 said. He was 5'11 with dark brown hair that had two strands of bangs in his eyes and the rest of his hair was in spikes. He had greenish-blue eyes and had a silver cross around his neck. He wore a red trench coat with black steel-toed boots.

'Well, Kurt, why don't you go and get Rogue? She should still be in the kitchen,' Xavier said.

Kurt nodded and left with a bamf. A few minutes later, Rogue appeared.

'You called, Professor?' she asked.

'Yes. Would you kindly see these four to some rooms? I still need to talk to these two.'

'Sure. Follow me you guys.'

The five kids left with Rogue.

'Why we special?' LeBeau asked.

'So that I can give you a little run down of the place. We're only merely a school to the public. Storm and Cyclops were two of my earliest students; you will meet them later. I taught them and protected them. Now, they are teaching and protecting others. But the school is only a public face. Down on the lower levels is an entirely different matter. Come with me and I shall show you.'

They both followed the Professor to an elevator. A few minutes later the elevator door opened to reveal the 'lower levels'.

'Whoa . . .' LeBeau gasped.

'When I was a young boy, I discovered my mutant ability. If I wanted to, I could make people do or think whatever I wanted them to. When I was 17, I met a boy named Erik Lehnsherr. He too was a mutant. He could control metal and create magnetic fields. He soon become angry with the world and all its beings that were not mutants. In the end, he became Magneto. He is still a very powerful mutant. He still believes that a war will take place between us and the rest of humanity. But the X-Men and I have a different view.'

'Who are they?' Hank asked.

'They are a group of mine that help me keep a watch over Magneto and others like him. Rogue is now one of the X-Men. You will meet the others soon. We all share a different opinion about the world than Magneto does. We believe that one day mutants and humans can live harmoniously with one another. But enough of my dreams. I have an offer for the both of you. If you would like, I can offer you both a place among the X-Men. If you decline, I fully understand. My doors will still be opened to you, nonetheless. The choice is yours.'

LeBeau looked at the Blackbird and the suits. 'We git one o' dem?'

'Of course.'

'Since dere ain't nothin' better t'do, I 'pose I'll join den.'

'Count me in as well,' Hank said.

'Wonderful. Now, you will find the first door on the left side of the hall on the second floor to belong to Logan. I'm sure if you knock, he'll show you to some rooms. I will have a meeting of the X-Men at noon time in my office today.'

Xavier then wheeled to the elevator.

The two followed him. When the elevator took them to the second floor, they got out. Xavier stayed and the elevator closed, taking him back to his office.


	4. Chapter Four

Author's Note: A new reviewer! Thank you very much Ultimate X-Men Fan. Thank you also CandyJMF. I have, in fact, chapters up to fifteen that are completed :)

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**Chapter Four**

Logan was still cleaning. He had managed to get all the pieces of his pillow casing in one spot. All the fluff was driving him insane. He had gotten a vacuum cleaner from the storage closet and was now sucking all the fluff up. The claw marks in the floor would have to stay there. Five minutes later, he had the vacuum cleaner off when he heard the knock.

'Yeah, it's open,' he said as he made a pile for the mattress pieces. He heard the door open, but when no one said anything, he turned around.

'What do you- hey, who th' hell are you?'

'A-Are you Logan?' Hank asked.

'Depends on who's askin'.'

'We're new comers. Professor Xavier said we should ask you about our rooms,' Hank said.

Logan saw how him and the other guy's eyes were darting all over the place. He sensed they were nervous.

'I'll get ya, Charley,' he muttered. 'C'mon then.'

He went to the door and they both hurriedly got out of his way. He rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall to the third door from his.

'Here's one room. You can either be roommates or th' other can stay in th' room beside it.'

'Thank you,' Hank said.

'Don' mention it.'

Logan started to make his way to his room, but stopped.

'Oh yeah, if you happen t'hear anythin' from my room in th' night, noises or somethin', don' bother. It's not worth it. Ya hear?'

'Of course. We hear loud and clearly my good sir,' Hank replied back.

'Whatever,' Logan then went into his room.

'Well, he's a colorful character, isn't he?' Hank commented as LeBeau just stared at him.

Rogue had shown the others some rooms they could share. A lot of the other kids came out to see the newcomers. Because of the newcomers, there weren't any classes today, so everyone was being friendly to everyone. Afterwards, it was about lunchtime, so Rogue met Bobby by his room and went to Professor Xavier's office. Rogue and Bobby met Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler by the elevator. Hank and LeBeau were already there. Logan finally trudged in about five minutes after everyone else. He had now changed into jeans and a white t-shirt. Once everyone was in the room, Xavier began.

'As you can see, we have two new guests. They are Remy LeBeau and Hank McCoy. I welcome them with open arms to the X-Men. They have not told me their powers yet, but perhaps they like surprising us. But, they do need aliases.'

'Oh, I'm Beast,' Hank said right away. Everyone looked at him. 'You'll see.' He assured everyone.

'People call me Gambit,' LeBeau said.

'Well, now since that is done, I'd like to introduce you to Scott Summers, also called Cyclops. Next to him is Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. You've already met Kurt, who deems himself as Nightcrawler. Logan is another whom you've met. He's known as Wolverine. Marie is called Rogue and Bobby is Iceman.'

While he said this, the two new ones shook everyone's hands. Both of their hands stung after Logan shook it, particularly Gambit's. When it was Gambit's turn to shake Rogue's hand, he winked at her and put on his most charming smile. Bobby cleared his throat and he and Gambit shook hands, but not for long. Gambit jumped back as his hand had icicles on it. Charles chose to ignore this and continued.

'Now, I have something to inform all of you on. I want you all to be on alert. There's nothing serious at the moment. However, I have a feeling that something is coming. What is it? I cannot say at this time. If there's anything unusual, just kindly report it in. It is just a slight precaution. Classes will restart as normal tomorrow. Any questions?' the Professor asked. When no one made a move to say anything, he said, 'All right. That is all.'

Scott went to talk to Professor Xavier more privately while Storm and Nightcrawler went to talk to the two new X-Men. Rogue went over to Logan.

'Everythin' all right?' she asked.

'Oh yeah. Don't trouble yerself, darlin',' Logan said, trying to sound off handed.

'You look like you could use some sleep,' Rogue persisted.

Logan knew she was just trying to be kind.

'I need some. But no sense in gettin' yerself all worried. Bobby looks jealous o'er there,' he said as he glanced in Bobby's direction.

Rogue smiled. 'S'pose so. You want to come down and have lunch with us?'

'Sure. What're havin'?'

'Somethin' fast food.'

'My favorite.'

Rogue broke into Scott's conversation with the Professor to tell them where they were going.

'It'll be okay, won't it?' she added on a side note.

'Since Logan is with you, I'm sure everything will be fine,' Charles said.

They headed to the garage.

'I think my favorite color's red,' Logan said as he spotted one of Scott's red cars. 'Get in.'

Bobby and Rogue got in the back as Logan took to the driver's seat. With no key, like many times before, Logan popped one claw out and put it in the ignition and it started right up.

'Where to?' he asked.

'The first fast food place we see,' Rogue said.

'All right.'

And soon, they were speeding away.

-Back at the Mansion-

'So, you have any medical labs around here?' Hank was asking Storm.

'Why, yes we do. Is that your biggest field of interest?'

'Ah, you must have seen some of my reports on television. I'm a scientist, if you don't know. I also have my Master's Degree in science, although I'm sure someone will try to take it from me now. I was a science teacher and was enjoying my time, even though I was a mutant. Then one day my secret got out and the people who once looked up to me quickly shunned me. So, it was by chance that I ran into young Peter's group and here I am,' Hank said cheerfully.

'Vell, vou're in luck. The Professor has this big medical ward. I'm sure it vill meet all of vour needs,' Kurt said. 'Vould vou like us to show vou?'

'And then how about lunch afterwards?' Storm suggested.

'Splendid,' Hank replied. The three of them left.

'So, when do Gambit get a suit like da ones dat you wear?' Gambit asked Scott when he was done talking to the Professor.

'If we don't have any spare ones, we'll order some. Should come in a few weeks,' Scott replied.

'What if Gambit want t'wear his coat?'

'Then that's fine,' Scott said, wondering why the Cajun was referring to himself in third person.

'So, who da leader of dis merry bunch?' Gambit asked, an answer already forming in the back of his mind.

'I am,' Scott said curtly.

'Really? Well, happy leadin',' Gambit said as he headed for the door.

'I have a bad feeling about him, Professor,' Scott said when Gambit had left.

'Don't worry about it, Scott. I'll check on him occasionally to see where his loyalties lie,' Xavier said as he tapped his temple with a finger.


	5. Chapter Five

Author's Note: Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Rominess? Like Rogue and Gambit? Well, I was always a fan of that couple and I couldn't possibly see how they ended up pairing Bobby and Rogue off in the movies so . . . we shall see /evil cackle/

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**Chapter Five**

-Somewhere at a hideout-

'When are we gonna do something?' John complained for what seemed the thousandth time.

'Soon. You mustn't get too impatient,' a rich voice answered him back.

'It's hard not to be when you're stuck here every day,' John whined in a bored voice.

'As soon as Mystique comes back. Then we will make our move.'

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Logan, Rogue, and Bobby were now enjoying their meals at a local Burger King. Rogue and Bobby chattered away as Logan ate his burger silently. The Professor has told them to be alert. Logan hadn't intended on doing that exact thing in a fast food place. But something had his senses working. He didn't know quite what it was, and that annoyed him. He stayed quiet and put all his attention on his surroundings. An old couple seated at the table behind him was enjoying salads. At a table across from them, a group of teenagers were having their lunch break. A red head in front of him was eating alone. Kids too young for school were playing in the play area. Just ordinary people that he had never seen before. But wait a minute . . . He was catching a whiff of something. And it smelled like . . . he would never forget that smell . . . Could he dare to believe? He brought his gaze back to the red head, only to find she wasn't there. He frantically looked around and saw her just exiting the front doors. She went the other way, her back to Logan. He had the impulse to get up. And just as he was about to, he stopped. 

He shook himself mentally. _Get a grip!_ He told himself. He faintly heard Rogue talking to him.

'Logan?' she asked again for the third time. She turned around to see what had caught his interest, but saw nothing. 'Are you okay?'

'What? Oh, sorry. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine,' he said.

'Are you sure? We could leave-' Rogue began.

'Nah, you two enjoy your food, I'm fine,' Logan assured the both of them.

After a couple of minutes, Rogue and Bobby started talking again, but Rogue still glanced at Logan every now and then. Logan told himself not to take in his surroundings so much as long as the kids were with him. But then something else caught his senses. He turned his attention outside the window on the other side of the fast food place. There was a thicket of trees nearby. His heighten sight picked up someone moving between the trees. They were moving with expert caution. The perfume sense was still lingering in his nostrils, preventing him to pick up the thing's scent. Tension was building in his mind. Anything unusual and he was suppose to report to Charles. But Charley was at least 10 miles away. Logan took a sip from his drink, his eyes never leaving the window . . .

'So, what do you think of the new kids?' Bobby was asking Rogue.

'They seem okay. Bit different to what we're normally use to.'

'Yeah, I agree. But hey, they _did_ get as out of class.'

'True,' Rogue agreed. She then looked at Logan.

He was unable to suppress the frown that furrowed his brow. She looked at where his gaze was. She couldn't make anything out but a bunch of trees.

'Logan?' she said loudly as she touched his hand with her own gloved one.

'What?' Logan answered as if he had snapped out of a daydream.

'Something _is_ wrong . . . isn't it?' she asked.

Logan didn't answer this time.

'We're not kids, you know. you can tell us. We can help,' Bobby said.

'I think we should leave,' Logan said.

Bobby and Rogue looked at each other.

'Now,' Logan said sternly.

He got up and threw his half-eaten sandwich and almost full coke away. Rogue and Bobby dumped theirs also. Logan walked quickly out the door. They followed and almost ran into him as he stopped abruptly.

'What is it?' Rogue asked as Logan sniffed the air.

Now he could smell whoever it was. And he immediately realized he knew this scent too. He felt the hair rise on the back of his neck and he felt his adamantium claws trying to reach the surface of his knuckles.

'Get in the car,' he said.

Rogue and Bobby didn't move.

'Get in the damn car!' Logan growled.

They jumped and bolted to the car. Logan stayed where he was. He looked around and saw that no one was looking his way. With a _snikt!_ His claws popped out. He edged his way closer to where the thicket was. He sensed the person was behind one of the trees. Logan crept along still, staying as far as possible from the view of the window where the people could see him. Bobby and Rogue still had a good view of him.

'What's he onto now?' Bobby asked, trying to sound annoyed, but unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

'I hope nothing bad happens. We're in front of all these people,' Rogue said as she rolled down the window.

Logan stopped short in front of the thicket as he heard whoever it was let out a low growl.

'What are you don' here?' Logan demanded.

'I'd ask you the same question,' the other person replied back.

'I thought you were dead,' Logan said.

'Then you thought wrong!' the person said as he leapt out of the thicket and onto Logan.

'Oh my God!' Rogue exclaimed.

'Who is that?' Bobby asked.

'You know, we heard about him on t'news! That's Sabretooth!' Rogue said.

_'That's_ him?!' Bobby asked as he moved to the front seat for a better look.

Sabretooth had sunk his nails into Logan's chest. Logan cried out in pain as he fell with Sabretooth on him. Sabretooth wrenched his nails from Logan and got up. He kicked Logan in the side. He kicked Logan in the side. He heard Logan give another cry of anguish and showed a rare, toothy, smile. Logan withered as he waited for his healing factor to kick in. Sabretooth went to uproot a tree. Logan finally staggered to his feet. Sabretooth took a swing at him but Logan painfully dodged and landed a cut in Sabretooth's stomach. He tried to pin Logan down with a tree, but Logan cut through it. Sabretooth hit him with one end, shattering it to bits and knocking Logan off his feet.

They had now gotten the attention of the people inside Burger King. A lot of them were watching through the window, but a few daredevils were daring enough to go outside for a better look.

'Where's the Professor when you need him?' Bobby asked as people passed by the car.

'Logan needs our help!' Rogue cried as Logan was now being thrown through several trees.

'Who are we to help him?' Bobby asked.

'We're suppose to be part of the X-Men, Bobby, or have you forgotten?' Rogue snapped.

Bobby looked at her and then stared back towards the thicket.

'I'm sorry I snapped,' Rogue said as she put her hand on Bobby's.

'I know,' Bobby said, taking her hand into his.

'I'll try and call out to the Professor,' Rogue said as she shut her eyes in concentration.

_Professor! We need your help!!!_


	6. Chapter Six

Author's Note: Lemme see who you think it is and I'll tell you if you're right or not lol. Here's another chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

-At the Mansion-

Charles was showing Hank their lab they had that was right beside the medical ward. Storm and Kurt accompanied them.

'You're free to work in here anytime-' Xavier was saying, but he was cut off by Rogue's cry for help.

'Are you all right, Professor?' Storm asked as she came to his side.

'What's the matter my good sir?' Hank asked worriedly.

'I'm fine. It's Rogue. She needs our help,' Charles said. 'Come! We must aid them!'

_Don't worry. We're coming,_ he said mentally.

_We're at the first Burger King before you get into the main part of town,_ Rogue thought back sending him an image of the place.

_Is it Logan?_ The Professor asked.

_Yes, hurry!_

Ten minutes later everyone was in the _Blackbird_ except for Hank.

'Does anyone know where he's at? You, LeBeau, you have a room next to him don't you?' Scott questioned.

'When Gambit left he still gettin' changed,' Gambit said.

Scott sighed. 'Well, if he isn't here in another two minutes, I'm going to have to leave him, Professor,' Scott said, looking towards the Professor.

'I believe you won't have to come to that, Scott. I see Hank coming now,' Charles said as his eyes twinkled. 'And now I think I understand why he is called Beast.'

Everyone looked in the direction the Professor was looking. What they saw coming was what appeared to be a big blue furry bear with street clothes on from a distance. As he ran closer, you could see he still had his glasses on and something of a resemblance in his face that told you it was indeed Hank McCoy.

'I am dreadfully sorry I've kept you from departing,' he huffed as he came aboard. 'I didn't know it would be quite so hard finding shorts and a shirt that would fit me in this form.'

'Well, find a seat and we'll take off,' Scott said as he sat in the pilot seat across from Storm. They then quickly made it to the Burger King.

'Give up?' Sabretooth asked Logan, who was on his knees with his hands on the ground.

The crowd had grown even closer. A lot more people were getting brave.

'Never,' Logan muttered as he got up.

Sweat and blood from his healed wounds were mingled together all over his body. His shirt had been shredded so badly that he had discarded it some time ago. He tried to regain his breath, painfully aware that with each hit it took longer for him to heal.

'What? Are we getting weak now?' Sabretooth teased.

BANG

A fist backed by adamantium bones broke Sabretooth's jaw. He spat out blood as he lunged for Logan. Logan ducked as Sabretooth fell on him. Logan flipped him over into a tree. The thicket was barely anything now. Logan thought he heard the wail of sirens somewhere close. That wasn't good. He couldn't ponder on this long though. Sabretooth, who hadn't bothered to get up, stabbed Logan's knee. His trick worked as Logan's leg buckled and he fell.

'No! Where's the Professor?' Rogue wailed as she drummed her hands on the door.

At that moment, she heard sirens. Both she and Bobby whirled around and saw five police cars coming.

'Dammit!' Bobby said as he hit the dashboard with his fists in frustration.

The policemen came closer, parked, and finally got out. All were carrying either a rifle or a pistol.

The people that were outside saw them. All of them started cheering.

'Those freaks won't last long now!' one person said.

'Hope they blow their heads off!' another said.

'They go boom! They go boom!' a little kid no older than five said as he jumped up and down laughing.

'That's sick,' Rogue said, clenching the car door.

Logan saw the police coming closer. He saw one had a bullhorn.

'Come out of the thicket with your hands up! You are surrounded!' the one with the bullhorn bellowed.

Logan felt his kneecap re-growing and stood up shakily on it.

'I was never good at followin' directions, bub,' he muttered as he wobbled, then stood straight.

About that time he whirled around as Sabretooth tried another onslaught on him. Logan swiped him a good once across the cheek, but he got a hand of five nails back in the face. He staggered back as the cuts took time to heal and then flinched when he heard a gun shot. It took a second before he realized he was bleeding and it wasn't from his face.

'LOGAN!' Rogue screamed as she saw him fall.

She opened the door and ran before Bobby could stop her. Wishing he were anywhere but here, he opened his door and ran after her.

Logan fell to his knees for what seemed like the hundredth time. He looked down and saw that it was close, too close. His judging told him the bullet had came a millimeter from his heart. His head was starting to swim as he felt his blood trickling over his hands as he pressed them firmly on the wound.

Sabretooth, on the other hand, was annoyed, but beside himself. They had just made it so much more easier for him, meaning he couldn't toy with Logan longer, but he was still satisfied. He heard a girl screaming and saw that she was running towards them, but she didn't matter. By the time she even managed to get over here, his job would be finished. He walked over to Logan and put his hand around Logan's throat. Logan was choking as Sabretooth lifted him close to his face.

'Son . . . of a . . .' Logan managed, but was cut short when Sabretooth sunk his other hand into Logan's chest.

Just about then, an unnatural high wind blew through the trees that remained standing. Sabretooth looked up and let out a growl through his re-grown jaw.

'Logan!' Rogue screamed again.

She was now running close to the police. She tried to get passed them, but one grabbed her. He got a hold to one gloved hand, but she managed to wrench her hand from the glove, only to be grabbed by another police. She saw another grab Bobby, who tried to put up a fight, but realized it was hopeless without revealing his powers. Rogue tried in vain to get away. The policeman that had her tried to get a better grip on her by grabbing her bare arm. When he did, they both let out a piercing scream. Her bare skin touched his and instantly she knew who he was. He was Danny Maxwell and had been working as a police for four years. He had a wife and two sons. He was 36, his wife 34, and the boys were 6 and 10. He disliked mutants greatly after one had killed his father a few years ago.

Bobby seized his chance and broke free easily as all the other policemen looked on in horror at the scene before them. Bobby ran to Rogue and forced the man's grip off of her as he too, felt an unnatural breeze. He looked up and could see the _Blackbird._ Everyone around him suddenly froze. He looked back down and kneeled down beside Rogue. He cradled her in his arms as she started shaking uncontrollably and sobbing. The _Blackbird _landed in the parking lot and Kurt teleported to Bobby.


	7. Chapter Seven

Author's Note: Wow, Silent Doom, I really appreciate your review. I know, replacing "w" and "y" with "v"'s was a little read when I was first writing it, but I wanted to try and capture everyone's accents and the like. You're not too wordy, and I'm sorry for all the little grammar errors. I try to correct them as best as I can before I send out another chapter, but I seem to always miss something. So I do apologize if I still don't catch all the errors. I'm glad that I made you happy about bringing Gambit and Beast into the story and sorry if the action parts are choppy lol.

Also, got some new and old readers alike coming around. And to clear it up, sych77, Atreyu is indeed in "The Neverending Story" and there's also a rock band called Atreyu. They got the name from the movie. Thanks for your reviews. Remy white-trash? I was hoping all those "deres" and "dems" would make him sound more like how we talk down here in Louisiana. Remy's not a very-well educated person, so maybe that's why he sounds like white-trash /shrugs/ And Rogue did recognize Sabretooth from X1, but you forget that Bobby wasn't with her, that's why I had her say he was on the news instead of going into great explanation, even though Bobby probably told her all about the events.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

'She'll be okay. Go check on Logan,' Bobby told him as he looked in Logan's direction.

A faint _bamf _of imploding air and Kurt's distinctive scent of smoke and brimstone filled Bobby's nostrils.

He looked up and saw Kurt was now standing over Logan. Not soon after something with blue fur ran over to them. Bobby didn't even try to figure it out as Storm came over to them. Rogue was now slowly recovering from her accident. Bobby helped her up as Storm asked for the third time if she would be all right.

'It's . . . okay. G-Go check on Logan,' Rogue said, sniffling as she shakily got up.

Storm took her word and headed for Logan. Cyclops and the Professor were already there. As soon as Sabretooth saw the X-Men coming, he had un-dug his nails from Logan's chest. He was now nowhere to be found. Logan, on the other hand, lay on his stomach; his claws had already gone back in when he lost consciousness. Beast rolled him over gently. He saw both the gun shot and other chest wounds.

'He can heal himself?' he asked Kurt.

'Yes, but vounds that deep and close to his heart are not good. I can tell from that that he is barely breathing. It vill take some time,' Kurt said as he bent down.

'But he is breathing. That is the good thing. Kurt? Why don't you teleport Logan back to the Blackbird?' the Professor said.

Storm could tell he was slightly worried.

'Whoever dat was, he long gone,' Gambit said as he and Cyclops searched the area.

'Sabretooth is not one who normally lingers,' Professor Xavier said as Kurt and Logan disappeared with a _bamf_.

'Do you think he was on orders from Magneto?' Cyclops asked.

'With his attack on Logan, it's hard to tell if he was or not. He may have been simply trying to get even.'

'He has a cruel way of showing it,' Storm said.

'Well, there's nothing more to be done here. Let's all head back home,' Xavier said as he turned his wheelchair and went off to see if Rogue was really all right. The rest stepped around the pool of blood that was Logan's and past the frozen people to the _Blackbird_. Soon Xavier, Rogue, and Bobby came on board.

'I think I'd like a nice shower about now, Storm,' Xavier said as the walking platform closed up.

Storm nodded. Her eyes burned white, her irises and pupils almost invisible. The air around her became charged with electricity. Outside, the sunshine was disappearing as rain clouds came out of thin air. A downpour followed with the roar of far away thunder. The jet rose and soon took off. Two minutes later, the people down below unfroze. The police officers looked at each other, especially at Officer Maxwell, who was rolling around the grass like a two-year-old. What the world were they doing at a Burger King with shot guns and pistols? And just what the hell did Maxwell think he was doing?

'Maxwell, get off the damn ground. Just what the hell do you call yourself doing?' the officer with the bullhorn barked.

Maxwell looked around stupidly. Just a few minutes ago he had felt like he was on fire, knowing he would die any minute. Now, besides feeling humiliated, he felt fine.

'I . . . er . . . I . . .' he mumbled unintelligible babble.

The other officers then noticed all the people around them were staring at them.

'Just a drill. Yeah . . . ladies and gentleman, it's only a drill. Go back and enjoy your meals,' the one with the bullhorn said, thinking quickly. He gave the other officers, particularly Maxwell, a stern look, daring them to argue otherwise.

* * *

'So, what did you see?'

'Did they bust each other up?'

'Did ya see them rip each other open?'

It was the next day and Rogue was having to endure the questions from all the kids in her first period. The bell was due to ring any minute for class to start and Rogue was ready to welcome it gladly.

Logan was still in the medical ward. A few more inches and both the bullet and Sabretooth's nails would have punctured his heart. His healing factor hadn't been given a proper rest before the attack. Rogue heard what went on during his nightmares. She had once been on a midnight stroll down the halls alone one night and had past his room. It sounded like one man fighting a hundred tigers. No wonder it was taking so long for him to heal. But Beast had promised that by the end of the week, Logan should be in tip-top shape.

The bell finally rang and the questions finally came to a halt. Hank walked in but for some reason, he was still blue. Some of the kids jumped back, having not seen him in this form before.

'Sorry, everyone, sorry. I did not mean to startle any of you. I was experimenting until late last night. I had been trying to find a way to get rid of my blueness when I overdid it too much on an acid and ended up like this. I'm afraid to say that I'll stay like this permanently. But that won't stop me from giving you homework tonight!' he said cheerfully while everyone else groaned.

The rest of the hour Rogue was copying down formulas and difficult mathematics to solve the formulas that everything that had happened the day before was pushed to the back of her mind. Afterwards, she would have Professor Xavier for two hours of English and Physics. Then she had planned to meet up with Bobby and have lunch together.

By the time lunch came, she was thoroughly looking forward to it. As she and Bobby met up and sat outside to enjoy their lunch, she found out that she wasn't the only one to be questioned like a criminal. Bobby was so fed up with everyone that he had actually threaten to freeze Jamie, who he shared a room with, to the wall and leave him there.

'At least we took the spotlight off the new kids,' Rogue said as she watched Draven, DeLeigh, and Drake as they sat on the grass and began eating.

'Yeah, yay for them,' Bobby muttered moodily.

Rogue finished her lunch. She still had time until her next class, so she asked Bobby if he'd go with her to check in on Logan.

'Not as if he's changed at all,' Bobby said, but got up and followed her.

They didn't notice Draven, DeLeigh, and Drake as they too got up and followed them. The medical ward was only one floor down, so it didn't take a long time. Logan was still in there. Tubes and bandages were all over him. When he fell out, the wounds that weren't completely healed slowly opened back up on their own accord.

'Whoa, what happened to him?' a deep voice asked.

Rogue and Bobby jumped.

'What are you doing here?!' Bobby demanded as he turned around and saw who it was.

Draven shrugged his shoulders, his hands in his pockets.

'We were bored. You two looked like you had something interesting going on, so we followed you.'

'We didn't see you in the elevator,' Rogue said.

'Took the stairs. Thought we needed the exercise,' Draven said as he went closer and looked in on Logan.

'Some would consider that being nosy,' Bobby said.

'Yeah, but only some,' Draven said, looking back at Bobby.

'Besides, you're the only ones nice enough to tell us more than two words. Everybody else seems scared of us, although I don't know why. We're all freaks here,' DeLeigh said as she stood by Draven.

'So, is this the guy they call Wolverine?' Draven asked, looking at Logan again.

'His name's Logan,' Rogue said quickly before she could stop herself.

'Sorry, Logan then. Anyway, this is him?' Draven asked.

'Yeah. He got attacked by an old enemy of his,' Rogue said.

'We've heard stories, but we haven't heard that one,' Drake commented.

'Well, we should know. We were there,' Bobby replied sharply.

'Hey, not saying we don't believe you. Some of the stories were too fishy anyway. But that was only one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you,' Draven said.

'And the other reason?' Bobby asked.

'Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Pyro?' DeLeigh asked.

'I knew I didn't like something about you from the start,' Bobby said, glaring in Draven and Drake's direction.

'Down boy. She only asked a question. Whether you'll admit it or not, he told us he knew you. And that was about the only thing he said,' Drake said.

'Why?' Rogue asked.

'Because I knocked him out. Thought he was a jackass. Have no clue where he's at now, but he seemed to have it in for you, my friend,' Draven said, pointing at Bobby.

'So you weren't friends with Pyro or anything?' Rogue asked.

'No,' DeLeigh said.

'Well, thanks for the tip,' Bobby said, feeling sheepish.

Just then a bell rang.

'Dammit, that was the bell for class,' DeLeigh mumbled as he looked at her watch.

There was a scramble to get into the elevator. It took them two floors up to the girls' dormitory and Rogue and DeLeigh got out. Bobby, Draven, and Drake waited until it went up another floor to their dormitories. Rogue and DeLeigh met up with Bobby and Drake seconds later because they had the same class together. Draven had to take the elevator and run to the garage where he had Scott's class at.

Rogue, Bobby, Drake, and DeLeigh made hurried apologies as they entered their History class. Storm didn't scold them too badly. She just warned Bobby that he had one more tardy left before detention. They went to their back row seats and opened their text books. Down at the garage Draven wasn't so lucky. Scott had been stressed with Logan's recent ambush and his now no sleeping habit wasn't helping matters. He told Draven he had a mind to give him detention, but instead he'd give him an essay to write. When everyone's classes were over, Rogue overheard Draven grumbling about it all to DeLeigh and Drake, who were sitting by her and Bobby.

'Scott's had a rough time,' Rogue assured Draven. 'He'll get over it.'

'Yeah, but that still doesn't help out with my essay,' he said gloomily.


	8. Chapter Eight

Author's Note: Two new readers, excellent.

You should be proud, sych77. The Never Ending Story was one of my favorite movies growing up (makes me sound like I'm old, lol)

Oh no, Silent Doom, I really appreciate all of your reviews, and especially yours, since you reviewed the good and the bad about my story.

But, as a whole, if anything seems misspelled or something doesn't sound right, it was probably typed wrong. Sorry for the typos, but I'm a 10th grader and have to deal with tests and midterms and that test we have to take in March and then I don't really have anyone to re-read any of my things that are offline because, well, don't live with my mom nor my dad and I live with my grandparents instead and all my grandma thinks I do is sit and do nothing the whole time I'm writing or typing a story, so getting her to look over things is certainly out of the question. So, I'm opened to out mistakes being pointed out :)

Yah, the double dream is kind of a rough start, gatermage, but it smooths out after that, or at least I'd like to think that way )

Here's a new chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

By Thursday, Logan finally awoke. Beast was just having his lunch break and had come to check up on him when he found him sitting up, massaging his head.

'Okay, Logan?' Beast asked as he walked in.

Logan did a double take of him. 'Who th' hell are you?'

'It's Hank. This is my true form. I was experimenting and ended up like this permanently,' Beast explained.

'Oh,' Logan said. 'How long have I bin out?'

'Almost a week. Welcome back,' Beast said as he went to take the bandages off of Logan's chest and back.

'Nothin' else has gone on?' Logan asked. He winced slightly as he took out his IV.

'Nothing concerning your nemesis,' Hank said as he threw the bandages away. 'Feeling all right?'

'Head's jus' givin' me hell,' Logan said. 'Should clear up in a sec.'

'You put your healing factor to the limit,' Beast said as he adjusted his glasses.

'It wouldn't o' bin so bad if I had a peaceful sleep th' night before,' Logan said as he slowly got up.

'Well, if your mind wanted to or not, you got a few nights of peaceful rest,' Beast said.

'Yeah, and I feel better now,' Logan said. 'See ya later.'

'Fare ye well,' Beast said.

'Yeah, whatever blue man,' Logan said as he walked out.

Logan went to his room for a shirt, but before he could turn the door handle, he heard his name called out by someone. He turned and saw it was Rogue.

'Hey, kiddo,' Logan said as she came up.

Bobby and three kids he wasn't familiar with followed her.

'It's good to have you back,' Rogue said.

'It's good t'be back,' Logan said.

'You feelin' better?' Rogue asked.

'Yeah. Jus' needed a few days o' rest. What happened to th' car?' Logan asked.

'Scott went and got it the other day,' Bobby said. 'Wasn't too happy that you stole another one of his cars.'

'Yeah, he'll get o'er it. Who's these three?'

'Oh, this is Draven, he's Drake, and she's DeLeigh. They were with a group of kids Peter kept together after the invasion,' Rogue explained.

'I've missed so much,' Logan said. 'Well, better go git a shirt. Need t'talk t'Charley anyway.'

'Okay then. Bye, Logan,' Rogue said.

'Later,' Logan said as he went into his room.

* * *

He opened his closet and absentmindedly pulled a shirt from within off a hanger. He was in some sweat pants from the ward, so he put his shirt on and made his way to Charles's office. He didn't even bother knocking. Charley was either in there, or he wasn't. His senses told him he was in there though. The Professor was reading something on his desk when Logan entered. He looked up as Logan came up close to his desk.

'Ah, Logan. Feeling all better?'

'Gimme some answers, Charley.'

'What kind of questions do you have?'

'Fer one, why did Sabretooth show up where we were?'

'Sorry to say, Logan, but I can't tell you even the slightest reason why. Magneto may have been behind it. But we all know I can't find that out for certain. And we can't forget that you have a history with Sabretooth. Please, do have a seat,' the Professor said, indicating a chair.

Logan sat down.

'Now, what exactly happened?'

'Didn't Bobby an' Rogue already tell you that?'

'Yes, but everything didn't happen to them.'

'Well, ain't I the special one? We were there an' I was homin' in on my surroundin's, an' I kinda fergot the kids were there, so I took in every little thing an' then I felt someone was watchin' an' I looked out th' window on our left an' saw him. Went outside an' went closer. He jumped me, an' that was it,' Logan said.

'Nothing else?'

Logan racked his brain. Then the image of a red haired woman with her back to him flashed in his mind. He furrowed his brow.

'I saw someone.'

'Yes?' Charles asked, watching Logan.

'It's . . . it's jus' . . . jus' that . . . she's dead . . .' Logan trailed off.

He was looking at the floor.

'Who Logan?'

'You know who!' Logan almost shouted, now looking at Charles.

'Ah, are you sure it was her?'

'Who else could it have been? I may not have seen her face, but her smell . . . I'll never ferget it. It's all I could smell until I was outside.'

'Mmm . . .' Charles said as he rubbed his finger across his brow.

'What?' Logan asked, watching the Professor now. 'You thinkin' it was a trap?'

'Well, just think about it.'

'I know what I smelled,' Logan said stubbornly.

'And I don't doubt you at all, but Logan, be sensible. It can't be a coincidence that you see Jean, someone who is suppose to be dead, and then Sabretooth is in a thicket by Burger King.'

'I don' believe in coincidence, but if you're so certain that I'm not right, then go check that Cerebro thins o' yours,' Logan said.

'All right, if you think that will help matters. Would you like to come along?' Charles asked, wheeling his way to the door.

'Yeah, yeah I do,' Logan said as he followed him.

They went into the elevator and went down to the Cerebro floor.

'Okay, if no one's really playin' wit' my mind, I want somethin' in return,' Logan said as they stood by the elevator.

'And what would that be?'

'If I'm right, I git t'smoke inside.'

'Then, I hope you're wrong,' Charles said as he went to the scanner.

It scanned his eyes and a few seconds later, a female voice by the name of Moria MacToggart said, 'Welcome Professor.'

They went inside. Logan looked around. It didn't impress him as much now, after he had already been down here, but it was still something to marvel at. The Professor went all the way to the place where a skeletal helmet was set upon a stand. It was connected to a panel by two cables that were on both earflaps. He fiddled with some switches near him. Logan walked up behind him while Xavier put the device on his head.

'Now, don't move,' he instructed Logan.

'I know,' Logan said as he stood still.

Charles closed his eyes. He exhaled as the chamber around them began to hum. Instantly, the platform on which they were positioned vanished. Logan felt the familiar sensation like he was plunging down a roller coaster, but then, it suddenly stopped. Instead of the panel walls that had been all round him, he saw the representation of the world. All around the world, he spotted the scarlet dots of mutants that shone against the darkness of forever non-glowing white dots of humans. Charles, meanwhile, was focusing in on Jean Grey. They were instantly searching across the world. She couldn't be found in Westchester, nor anywhere in New York or any of the states for that matter. Europe hadn't seen a redheaded telepath and telekinesis woman by the name of Jean Grey either. New Zealand and Australia had a few women fitting her description, but none were the real Jean Grey. They searched everywhere. Their last stop somehow ended on Canada. Logan could barely recognize the remains of the Alkali Lake Industrial Complex. The water was still there, though it was lower than Logan remembered. There wasn't a single dot anywhere to be found in the water. Nearby, however, Logan saw a scarlet dot about 10 miles away. He held his breath without even meaning to do so as they took a closer look. After a few seconds, the Professor spoke.

'It's not her, Logan.'

'Yer sure? Look closer.'

'I can't.'

'What th' hell does that mean?'

'Somehow, the mutant is blocking me. It's certainly a mutant, but it's not Magneto. I get different vibes when Erik is blocking me. I don't think I've had anyone else yet to find a way to block me besides him though. They don't feel familiar. This is starting to puzzle me.'

'So, that's it?'

'I'm afraid so. As much as it puzzles me, there's nothing else I can do.'

The Professor had had his eyes opened while he spoke. He now closed them and the dots started fading away. Finally, they were on the central platform. Some fresh air fluttered across Logan's face as he sensed the door had cycled open. Charles put his head device back on the panel and wheeled his wheelchair around. Logan still hadn't moved, except that he now had his arms crossed over his chest.

'Okay, so someone is toyin' 'round. We still haven't had our talk.'

'I suppose we haven't. Would you like to go back to the office?'


	9. Chapter Nine

Author's Note: So sorry it took so long!!

Sorry to hear about that, sych77. Hope you're having better luck these days.

Thank you legolasfreak2

I'm sorry to hear that you don't like Jean or the Phoenix, Silent Doom. Truth be told, I don't quite like her myself, but that's the way the movie was heading and I thought it would be something interesting to write about.

novthoniel, Gambit . . . dumb? Sorry, that was never my intentions. You have to understand though, he probably got poor schooling if he even got schooling at all down in New Orleans. I, myself, am I huge Gambit fan, even a bigger one since he comes from my home state. Sorry if I made him sound dumb.

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe, you'll have to read on, lol!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

At dinnertime Scott, Storm, Nigthcrawler, and Beast were in the living room watching the news and eating their dinners. Logan, Gambit, Rogue, and Bobby were eating in the kitchen. Logan hadn't gotten much out of Charles, like usual. He was in a sullen mood as he ate his fried chicken. Gambit was also quieter than he normally would have been, especially in Rogue's presence. With his homeland far behind, he had a thirst that only the Big Easy could quench. Since Logan and Gambit weren't talkative, Rogue and Bobby quietly talked. Rogue looked at Bobby most of the time, but for some reason, she couldn't help stealing glances at Gambit. He looked awfully handsome closer up, after you got over his rough New Orleans' look.

'So, ah, do anyone play cards?' Gambit asked after a while of picking over his chicken.

'This is a school,' Bobby said.

Gambit looked at him, the look on his face said plainly, 'So?'

'I play, sometimes,' Logan said.

'Do ya? Wanna go fo' a round?' Gambit asked, leaning back on his chair.

'What're we playin'?'

'Well, Gambit not sure you know how t'play Bourre', so poker sound good?'

'Sure, but we ain't got no chips and I'm broke.'

'Ah, dat okay. Gambit came off wit' a few chips last time he was in a bar,' Gambit said as he leaned back down and pulled out a small bag of chips from one of his many pockets.

'A few?' Rogue couldn't help but question as she saw all the chips.

'Owner didn' know a t'ing, but den again, I did give 'im so many drinks dat he had hard time countin' dem,' Gambit explained as he winked at Rogue, who blushed.

Bobby cleared his throat and both he and Rogue left them at their game. They went into the living room just in time to hear the latest news.

A guy in his middle thirties was on the television. He was wearing a full body suit like the kind people wear when an area was being quarantined. In answer for the suit, there were numerous other people in the same suits running here and there behind him. He appeared to be on muddy land with a lot of junk bending him.

'Hello, I'm Matt Steward here in Alberta, Canada. Yes, you heard right. I am here to report an unexplainable phenomenon that took place only a few hours ago. If you will, try to recall that about six months ago, an abandoned dam collapsed and took out most of the surrounding forest, including an ancient looking complex that the dam was built on. Scientists have confirmed that it would take years for all the water to fully dry up, if ever. Due to constant snow and regular rainfall, it would be a miracle. Well, you are now looking at one. I am now standing where the water used to be. I kid you not. If the camera will pan just over there, you'll see the places where the water used to be. Everywhere else there's snow and trees, but here there's nothing but mud and debris.

The scientists we have here are baffled. They're working behind me as I speak on a logical explanation for this. For safety reasons, I've been required to put on this body suit. There are all kinds of things around here, but no bodies or any of that sort have been found here. We'll talk more with a scientist tonight at ten.'

'That's . . . isn't that where we were at?' Bobby asked, after a commercial came on.

'I'm going to have a talk with the Professor,' Scott said, looking unusually pale.

'Whatever is the matter with Scott?' Beast asked after he left.

'The Professor didn't happen to mention anything about the things that went on in Canada?' Storm asked Beast.

'Not that I recall. Why do you ask?'

'Are vou up for a long story?' Kurt asked.

About thirty minutes into their story, loud banging and shouting could be heard from the kitchen. They all got up and rushed to see what the problem was. They came into the kitchen and found Logan and Gambit were both on their feet. The chips and cards were everywhere, namely on the floor. The table and chairs had been flipped over as well.

'I shoulda known! Who th' hell wears a damn trench-coat in a house anyway?' Logan was yelling.

'Maybe it cold,' Gambit muttered.

'Yer a cheatin' scum! Comin' from New Orleans makes ya t'ink ya want t'be clever,' Logan said.

'Ya say you were broke anyway. What it to ya if it my money?' Gambit asked.

'Cause I won that money fair an' square!' Logan said, coming around the overturned table. 'Lemme see th' damn jacket, Cajun!'

'Hey, man. Whoa, okay, okay,' Gambit said as a claw popped out of Logan's knuckles. He took the jacket off slowly. Extra cards started falling on the floor.

'Ha! Hand o'er th' money too, bub,' Logan said as he held out his other hand.

Gambit reluctantly gave him the money. Logan threw the jacket back at him.

'You may fool people in New Orleans, but I could smell you were nervous an' tryin' t'be sneaky wit' somethin'. Don' let it happen again an' I'll jus' keep th' money,' Logan said as he turned the table back on its legs again and walked out.

Gambit grumbled, but picked up the overturned chairs, throwing his coat on one of them. He then began picking up his chips and cards. Everyone else headed back to the living room. Everyone, that is, except Rogue. Gambit was on his hands and knees, shuffling his cards together.

'Were you really cheatin'?' Rogue asked.

Gambit, thinking he was alone, jumped and dropped the cards in his hands.

'Don' scare ol' Gambit like that, chere,' Gambit said.

'Sorry,' Rogue said, looking down at her hands. 'But did you really cheat?'

''Fraid so. Ya gotta play dirty t'live de streets, chere.'

'Oh. Well, Logan's not that bad, ya know,' Rogue assured him.

'Ya don' say?' Gambit asked, smiling slightly.

'Yeah, ya just can't cheat on poker with him,' Rogue said, bending down and helping him put the chips in the bag.

'Wish someone told me dat sooner.'

'You two might get along.'

'Easy fo' you t'say. He hasn't saved me.'

Rogue was silent.

'Sorry, if you're touchy on da subject,' Gambit said.

'No, it's okay.'

'You from de south?'

'Mississippi.'

'Ah, I t'ought so. Somewhere near dere. Well, dat look like all o' da cards.'

'All the chips too,' Rogue said, getting up as Gambit did and handing him the bag.

'Right. Well, see ya round,' Gambit said as he picked up his coat and left.

A few extra cards fell out of a pocket. He didn't notice and went on. Rogue bent down and picked them up. Three were actual cards and the fourth was some kind of membership card to something. She ran to give them back to him.

Logan was planning to go back to his room. He was going up the stairs when Scott ran into him.

'Watch it,' he growled, still counting the money to know he hadn't been cheated twice.

'S-Sorry,' Scott said.

Logan stopped counting. 'You never apologize, what's th-' he began, but stopped as he looked up.

'Yeah, well, it's your lucky day,' Scott said as he began to go down the stairs.

'Hey, what's th' matter?' Logan asked. He had never seen Scott this pale before, except once.

'You haven't watched the news, have you?'

'So what if I haven't?'

'Watch at ten. You'll see.'

'What th' hell is that suppose t'mean?'

'Wouldn't be me if I told ya.'

And with that Scott headed down to the living room.

Logan watched him go. He shrugged to himself and went to his room.

At 9:00, with the help of Jones, Logan found an old comedy he remembered that he used to watch. By 9:30, it got old. Logan couldn't remember dozing off, but he did. And just because he was in the living room on the same couch as Jones, didn't mean the dreams would let up . . .

_He was in Canada. He could tell by the snow and the trees. He sensed something ahead. As he trudged through the snow he knew he had been here before. He began to see bits of old parts and numerous other things littering the ground. He found all kinds of needles, gloves, and a gas mask that looked to be in tack. He realized the more he saw things on the ground, the more thinner the trees became. With his senses on high alert, he knew there was a drop off up ahead. He got to it and his mouth fell open. There were no trees in the drop off, just mud. It reminded him of a lake. He looked farther down. Even though it was growing dark, his piercing eyes saw the bottom. Rocks and more junk were down there. Also accompanying the bottom was a tank. A tank, to his horror, that looked oddly familiar. He now knew exactly where he was and exactly what this was. He was home . ._ .


	10. Chapter Ten

Author's Note: legolasfreak2 - It all has to do with the Phoenix.

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe - Maybe, lol.

Silent Doom - We're just assuming they've done so. I mean, it's really no point in repeating everything all over again since anyone that would bother reading this story must know about the second movie or they're just wasting their time. Thank you for the review :)

Frodo Fan125 - Er . . . that was random.

moorooster09 - lol, that's the joy of reading or watching things though. I must agree with you, Hugh Jackman makes the perfect anything, Wolverine included. :)

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

When Jones had heard Logan's snores, he blinked, and the channel changed to some music videos. It wasn't his kind of music, so he blinked again and Woody the Woodpecker was on. Too kiddish. He blinked again and the Oscars were on. He watched as Halle Berry took her Oscar for some role she played in her new movie. He blinked again and Jerry Springer was on. He stayed blinking, looking over at Logan occasionally when Logan muttered something.

Finally, a few minutes before ten, Jones found a news station. The only problem now was getting Logan up. Jones remembered all too well when Rogue had once tried to wake him and she ended up getting a stab to the chest. A few minutes and the news would be on. Jones got a little closer to Logan. He hurried and tapped him hard on the shoulder three times and then got up and ran back to the end of the couch. He had done the trick; Logan opened his eyes with a 'What?' and jumped up. Jones tried to flatten himself against the couch. Logan looked around and saw where he was.

'The news, remember?' Jones squeaked.

'Oh, yeah. Thanks fer wakin' me, kid,' Logan said as he sat back down.

'No problem,' Jones said, relaxing.

Matt Steward was on again. There were huge spotlights on the scene. Logan's mouth fell open as he saw it for the second time.

'I've been warned not to touch anything, but, if you look over there, it appears to be a tank. Over here, this huge controller thing was found at the bottom. These highly trained professionals are now picking through everything at the bottom and are taking samples of the environment. If I could get one of them to come up to the mic for a second . . .' Steward said as he walked up to one of the scientists.

'Yes, sir. Would you mind showing us some of the things you've found here at the bottom?' Steward asked as he held the mic up to the scientist's face.

'Well, as you can see here in my hands, we've found needles, syringes, scalpels, and tubes. We also found a large amount of gas masks that are broken or are in good shape everywhere.'

'Thank you very much, sir. Now, I'll remind all our viewers tonight that about 100 feet from here, what is now believed to be the Alkali Lake Complex once stood. All of these things are believed to have come down when the dam collapsed and all the water came to rest here. Scientists are still boggled by this and have yet to find an explanation for it. We'll be here all week. Now onto Berry White with the weather.'

'Was that all you wanted to see?' Jones asked.

Logan didn't appear to hear him. He was still staring at the screen as Berry said that New York would be in for a cool night.

'Um . . . Mr. Logan?' Jones tried again as he tapped Logan on the arm.

Logan shook his head slightly. 'What? Oh, yeah, that's all I wanted. Thanks kiddo.'

Logan got up and ruffled Jones's hair as he went back up to his room.

Charles was already in bed. He was sitting up, not paying attention to the television as it blared on. A thought moving up the stairs went through his mind. He let it reach the surface of his mind and knew that Logan had just watched the same thing. Charles sighed as he turned the television off. He pulled the covers up and tried to go through the procedures he always did to shut off his mind so he could get some rest. After a few minutes he could feel that it wasn't working tonight. It wouldn't work just like it hadn't almost every night these days. Seeing that he had just too much to think about, a heavy sighed escaped him again. He reached over to his night stand and got his book, finding where he had left off in it.

* * *

John was asleep in his bed. There was a knock on his door, but he didn't hear it amongst his loud snores. The knocks continued two more times until the door opened. Mystique appeared. She shook him roughly and he came out of his dreams.

'Wha now?' he grumbled.

'We're going. Get dressed.'

'It's almost midnight!' John complained as he looked at his watch and sat up.

'Exactly,' Mystique said as she walked out the door.

John muttered some curses under his breath while he got dressed. He stepped out of his room five minutes later and walked down the hallway. He came out into Magneto's office. It only had a metal desk and various chairs (all metal), but it was enough. Magneto himself was sitting behind his desk. Mystique had already taken a seat in one of the chairs. John sat down in the other. He sat there looking at Magneto, but Magneto was scribbling something down on a piece of paper. It appeared he was in no hurry to talk about his plans.

'So, why wake us up in the middle of the night for?' John asked.

'I am about to set my plans in action,' Magneto said, not looking up from his writing.

'Which are?' John asked.

'Patience is a virtue,' Magneto said.

_Something I don't have,_ John thought.

Magneto finally stopped writing and looked up from his paper.

'We may or may not be going to Canada,' he explained.

'Canada? We were just there like six months ago! What's so important over there to go back?'

'I have my connections and there seems to be a powerful mutant close to where we were in Canada. Our alliances are thin, so I'm seeking out all the candidates I can find. Sabretooth failed to kill the animal Wolverine, even though he had help from Mystique and the police. I've sent him to Canada to be sure of the mutant and see if it can be persuaded to our side. We'll bind our time and then strike the X-Men when they least expect it. I want you and Mystique to take a stroll by the Mansion and take in as much as you can. Charles has to expect something of me, no doubt, therefore doubling his security,' Magneto finished.

'At midnight?' John asked.

'Yes, I expect you two to leave in a few minutes. Here are two Palm Pilots. They have digital cameras built into them. Take as many pictures as you can,' Magneto said, handing them identical black Palm Pilots.

'But, what's she gonna look-' John started, but stopped when he looked in Mystique's direction. She had transformed into a girl the same age as John.

'Never mind then,' John said as he put the Palm Pilot in his pocket, openly gaping at her.

'Now, you will take a taxi as far as you can without causing suspicion. Should anyone ask, you're just a couple taking a nighttime stroll,' Magneto said.

'All right!' John said before he could stop himself.

'Don't you even get any ideas,' Mystique said dangerously as she got up.

John hurried after her.

Soon, they were off on the streets. Mystique had no problem flagging down a taxi. She told the man to take them to a bar in Westchester that was called Banana Joe's that wasn't too far from the Mansion. They got there about thirty minutes later. They waited until the cab left before starting to walk down the road.

'What's your name suppose to be anyway?' John asked as the bar was getting farther and farther behind him.

'Misty,' Mystique said in her now more girly voice.

'How original,' John said under his breath.

'You bet!' Misty said, taking the opportunity to trod on John's foot.

'Ow!' John said as he walked a little farther away from her.

After another thirty minutes and they could see the top of the Mansion coming into view. They had met no one on the road.

'So, what happens if someone recognizes me?' John asked.

'Run like hell,' Misty simply said as if that was obvious.

They were then in front of the Mansion. The gate was closed, but that was to be expected. There had been new shrubby and plants planted since the last time John had been there. They began taking pictures here and there, trying to spot any cameras.

'Wanna get closer?' John asked after they had taken a few pictures.

'Without getting caught,' Mystique said as John started looking for something.

'Ah! Here it is,' he said as he found a hole between the shrubby that wasn't visible until he had found it. 'We used to sneak out and back in this way all the time.'

He wasn't facing Mystique, so she had time to mask her surprise. She had underestimated him. He let her crawl through before he did the same.

They were now on the front lawn.

'From what I remember, I could tell you where all the traps were that set off the alarms,' John said.

'Really?' Mystique asked.

'Yeah. I stole some blueprint of the grounds once when I wanted to sneak out. From where I'm standing, three steps to the right'll set off an alarm. The only way to go is forward five steps and then turn left and walk all the way to that shrub,' John said, taking the steps and stopping by the shrubs, taking pictures as he went.

'You never told us you knew all this,' Mystique said.

'You never asked,' John said as he continued to walk all the way to the concrete drive way.

'This is the only way I know to get in. I usually just slip into the door if it's unlocked, or someone opens the door for me. It doesn't look like they've found out about my route, but we're screwed if they have.'

He then stepped on the drive way and there was silence. Then a distant beeping noise could be heard, and it was getting louder.

'Uh-oh,' John said as he jumped back to the grass and crouched down.

'Fool!' Mystique hissed as John frantically crawled back to where she was, setting off more alarms as he stepped on them in his hurry.

'Sorry,' he muttered as Mystique was already scrambling back through the hole.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note:** Well, I thank everyone for the reviews once again. I am also dreadfully sorry for the long wait. It's just that a lot has been happening in my life now and I just don't feel like coming on to load another chapter up. My little brother who happened to only be 1 month old died in the hospital Sunday night and I've had to deal with that and the funeral and everything. So yeah . . . But I've come and will load another chapter now! You've all been great!

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Charles jolted awake as several alarms sounded in his head and exploded in reality. His book fell to the floor as he sat upright. He called out to Scott telepathically, but found he had no need to when Scott opened his door seconds later. Seeing that his mentor was okay, Scott helped him into his wheelchair. They went out of his room as Logan came towards them.

'What th' hell is that?' he asked.

'It's the alarm. Someone was walking on the driveway,' Charles replied as he searched the perimeter in his mind.

'I'll see to them,' Scott said.

'Not without backup. I'm sensing two people, but there may be more. Logan, go with him,' Charles said, choosing to ignore the glares Logan and Scott were giving each other.

Charles left them and wheeled to his office, telling Rogue and Bobby to assure the rest of the kids that everything was under control. The rest of the X-Men went to his office.

'I've sent Scott and Logan to check everything out,' Charles said as Scott told him mentally that they hadn't met anyone yet.

Logan and Scott had made it to the front of the Mansion and went out a side door into the night.

'Logan, don't try to make too much noise,' Scott pestered.

'You jus' mind yer own words an' try t'keep up,' Logan said as he crouched down and started off, catlike.

Scott bit down a retort and followed him. They didn't even have a plan! This was not how Scott liked to do things . . .

Meanwhile, Logan was sniffing away like a bloodhound hunting down its prey. He hadn't popped his claws yet, in case it was a false alarm, which he doubted. Logan crouched behind a bush, still having a good view of the driveway. He caught a whiff of something. It smelled like cologne. Definitely not from Summers. Yet, he recognized it. He realized who it was when Scott walked up behind him.

'Th' kid's back,' Logan whispered, barely moving his lips.

'Who?' Scott asked, but Logan put up a hand in the air to silence him. He had heard some movement . . .

* * *

John and err . . . Misty were crouched behind the wall that connected to the gate.

'Do something!' Mystique hissed at him.

'What am I suppose to do? We've both got powers!' John said.

'I can't do a damn thing in this form but step on people's toes,' Mystique said.

'Step on people's toes? Why don't you do it?'

'Are you serious? They probably sent Wolverine out and he's probably already smelt us! It would take more than stepping on his toes to get rid of him! I couldn't sneak up on him if I wanted to. He can see my scars because of this shirt,' Mystique said, pointing to three scars that her short shirt and low cut jeans revealed.

'Oh . . .' John said, but stopped as he heard Scott quite plainly ask "Who?"

'Start running,' he told Mystique.

'Why?'

'I think I have a plan . . .'

* * *

Logan knew it had come from somewhere near the front gate. He had even heard voices, he was sure of it. He started to edge that way. There was definitely someone moving now. All of a sudden, he saw John in a green shirt and black pants. He sensed someone else running down the road.

'Hey jackasses!' John catcalled.

Logan was about to give a smart reply back, but a huge flaming ball hurdled towards him. He ducked and dragged Scott down with him. The flame hit a bush nearby and it burst into flames.

_Tell Bobby to get down here!_ Logan thought to Charles.

Every bush John could see was now a target for him. Scott and Logan made a dash to get out of the line of fire. They ran onto the driveway and looked around at all the burning bushes.

Logan made a dash for the gate, trying to climb over it. He hurried as fast as he could, but he still got burned as John threw another fireball at him. He growled in outrage, but still continued to crawl over to the other side. Logan jumped down and John got to see the burns that covered his body start to slowly heal. John was now looking into the eye of a beast. Logan let out another growl, staring daggers at him as his claws came out with sickening _snikts_. John hurled fireball after fireball at Logan in a frantic attempt to keep him at bay. He succeeded in only pissing Logan off more. Cyclops had now climbed over the gate as well.

'Git th' other!' Logan yelled as he tried to take a swipe at John. He missed him by mere inches.

Cyclops saw who he meant and ran after, what he thought, was a teenager. Mystique cursed herself for picking high-heeled boots as she ran as fast as this form would allow her. She dared not change into something else. If they did catch her, she would pretend to be the teenager she appeared to be. She could do much more damage from the inside anyway. She knew Xavier couldn't tell what she was by her mind, Magneto had seen to that. Both she and John were wearing tiny metal pieces behind their ears. It was of the same material as Magneto's helmet. He was controlling the metal waves to confuse Xavier. Cyclops shot a warning blast a few inches on her right, but she ignored it. She pumped her hands as hard as she could. He shot another beam. This one was closer this time . . .

* * *

Xavier had now sent Bobby out to help them. He ran out into the yard and quickly retreated back into the door. Flames were flickering inches from his face. He started sweating instantly. His hand went up and ice shot out from it. The nearest bush was engulfed in ice and instantly started smoking. He moved out of the door and tried to be fast about his job, but the heat was so intense. He could feel he was dehydrating and was hoping for a miracle.

* * *

'Ow!' John yelled as Logan took another swipe and cut his left arm from the elbow on up.

'There's more from where that came from,' Logan said as he lunged at him.

John dodged in the nick of time. He built up his emotions and using his lighter, he surrounded Logan in flames. He then ran like crazy in Mystique's direction.

Mystique was getting annoyed. Then, remembering who it was, she let a sly grin appear on her face. To hell with trying to get on the inside. She stopped and held her hands up, like surrendering to a police. Cyclops stopped.

'Well, I'm glad to see you've made a decision-' he began.

'Oh yes, love, I have,' Mystique said, her blonde hair turning to red and her blue eyes turning to green. She grew a few inches taller. Her face changed along with her body. He was now in a black suit. She turned to face Scott.

'Payback's a bitch and so am I,' she said as he got a kick to the stomach with lightning speed that sent him flying.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Author's Note: Silent Doom: Thank you very much, Silent Doom. I'm very much up to updating now :)

legolasfreak2: They're trying to see if any of the X-Men's security has changed. Magneto knows that Charles is bound to expect something from him, so he wants Mystique and John to scope out everything and see if they can't find anything. Hope I've helped you out.

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: Thank you very much :)

And here's the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Bobby was sweating profusely and he could barely keep his eyes focused. A few minutes later he felt something wet land on his shaking arm. He looked up and more wet drops landed on his face. It had started to rain. He was so happy he could have hugged Storm right then and there. The rain kept him from dehydration and it also helped him put out the fires. He would have them all out in less than ten minutes now.

Cyclops got back up, clutching his stomach with one hand. It had hurt worst now since he wasn't in his suit. John bumped into his shoulder as he ran to get to Mystique. She blew Cyclops a kiss, still as Jean, and then they both took off. He stared at them go, his other hand by his visor. He had to blast them! But he still hesitated.

'What are you doin'?' Logan demanded as he ran up to Cyclops. The rain had put out the fire surrounding him. When Cyclops didn't say anything, he shoved him on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

'I couldn't!' he wailed, having not heard Logan.

'You should have shot her dammit!'

Scott turned on Logan. 'Why the hell would I?'

'That was Mystique, don' you get it! She was th' same Jean I saw when Sabretooth came,' Logan explained, just realizing it himself.

Scott just looked at him.

'Hey guys. Everything okay?' Bobby asked. Just putting the last fire out.

'Yeah, come on,' Logan said.

Bobby followed him, but Scott stayed where he was. He looked back in the direction Mystique and John had taken and stared into the emptiness, the rain drenching him.

'What's up with him?' Bobby asked in a quite voice.

'He's jus' bin reminded o' th' past in a clear new way,' Logan answered.

Bobby knew to ask nothing else. He pushed the buttons on the secret panel that only the X-Men knew and the gate opened. As he looked back at Scott, he didn't lock it back.

Bobby followed Logan as he headed to the Professor's office. There, the rest of the X-Men watched them as they came in.

'Where is Scott?' Storm asked.

'Outside,' Charles said, before Logan could answer. 'He needs some time alone.'

'Yeah, well, Mystique's gitting on my ever lastin' nerves,' Logan said as he sat down in a chair.

'Mystique?' Bobby asked. 'That was her?'

'An' she wasn't alone,' Logan muttered darkly. 'I almost got 'im!'

'Who?' Bobby asked again.

'John. He knew of the security system, well, almost. We'll have to keep an eye on him,' Charles said.

'He did all of that! That bast-'

'Bobby,' Charles warned.

'Sorry,' Bobby muttered, looking down at the ground.

'I did get something from his mind though. I couldn't get anything at first. They seemed to have found a way to block me, but after Logan fought with him, I finally got inside his head,' Charles said. 'I know where they're going. We'll start late tomorrow because of all of this, but you'll need all of your strength.'

'So, where we goin'?' Logan asked.

'I think you know that answer pretty well by now, Logan.'

'We're goin' to Canada,' Logan said.

'Exactly. I'll explain everything tomorrow. We'll leave at one o'clock. Everyone get some sleep now. I'm going to talk to Scott,' Charles said as he wheeled out the door.

A minute passed, then everyone went to the door and went to their own rooms.

* * *

'You and your bright ideas!' Mystique muttered as they were still jogging. 

'Well, I wasn't the one who put us here in the first place!' John retorted.

Mystique stopped. 'No, you were the one who didn't think they would change the security.'

John was expecting her to spit venom any minute. She turned back around, but slowed down her pace when the bar came into sight.

John asked if she'd hold on for a minute.

'Why?' she asked.

'Because I'm bleeding gallons over here! What would the people outside the bar think?' he asked.

She stopped, so he bent down and tore a long length off the bottom of his shirt. He was still a few inches short, but that part of the gash wasn't as deep as the rest of it.

'Now, what will the people outside think?' Mystique had to ask as John got back up with half his shirt torn off.

'It was big foot,' John replied.

Mystique rolled her eyes and they started walking again. She was in her blonde form again and they waited for a cab. When one came, they went in it. The driver stared at John. Mystique paid him extra and told him to ask no questions to keep his mouth shut. He dropped them off at a deserted alley and floored it once they were out. Mystique and John finally got back to the hideout. Magneto was still waiting for them in his office.

'What happened?' Magneto asked as he took in John's bloody arm.

'He stepped on new security,' Mystique answered.

'Sometimes I ask myself why I even bothered bringing you in,' Magneto said.

'Sorry?' John tried.

Magneto gave him a sour look. 'Imbecile. Now we'll be leaving at 7 in the morning. I have gotten word from Sabretooth. If you aren't ready, then I'll leave you here.'

'Okay . . .' John gulped.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Thanks for the reviews, guys.

CottonCandyChopsticks: I'm sorry you feel that Logan didn't have an accent in chapter 2. I promise you that in every other chapter after that I've tried to have him an accent.

Blaze-LoganLover: Wow, thank you very much! Hope you stay enjoying it.

moorooster09: Great writer, now, eh? Sure do know how to say the right things for another chapter, lol. Thanks for the review.

Silent Doom: Thank you for continuing to read my story. I always enjoy reading your comments and I hope you continue to type them :)

Here's another chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Most of the X-Men were up around ten, even if they weren't leaving until one. The kids were all in happy moods. It wasn't everyday that school was canceled, especially here. Many of them were sleeping in. Gambit, however, was one of the last X-Men to get up. He walked down to the kitchen with his bed hair and he was still wearing pajamas. Rogue wasn't the only one that had a second glance at him as he entered the kitchen. One of her friends, Jubilee, was eating breakfast with her and Bobby.

'Sorry, Gambit not late, is he?' he asked.

'It's only 10:30,' Rogue said.

'Ah, hell. I got up too early,' Gambit said as he picked over some toast.

'I hear you never go anywhere without your coat,' Jubilee said.

'What dat? Oh, yeah, I wear it almost all da time. Gambit don' t'ink he know your name,' Gambit said, realizing he hadn't seen her before.

'Oh, it's Jubilee,' she said, her face turning a light shade of red.

'Jubilee? Dat's a nice name,' Gambit said as he sat down opposite them and began munching on his toast, not noticing her blushing.

'Did you ever get a suit?' Rogue asked.

'Nah, don' t'ink I'd need it. It don' have da right number o' pockets for mah liking,' Gambit said. 'Mah coat's enough for moi.'

'Yeah, but what if you get hit? The suits serve as built-in protection,' Bobby said.

'Ah, don' worry 'bout dat. Dey won't git close enough to,' Gambit said as he grinned his boyish grin.

Two cards suddenly appeared in his hand. The other three jumped, but he just laughed.

'How do you that?' Jubilee asked.

'Practice, petit,' Gambit said simply, and the cards went away. 'Well, I'm a watch some TV. Au revoir.'

As soon as he left, Jubilee was all for questions.

'How come you didn't tell me he was good looking?' she demanded of Rogue.

'What are you talking about?' Rogue asked, realizing she was saying this only because Bobby was in the room.

'How old is he then?' Jubilee asked.

'Around 21, I suppose,' Rogue said.

'Oh, wow, that's so cool. Could you talk to him for me?'

'And say what? "Hi, my friend likes you?"'

'Uh, yeah,' Jubilee said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

'I'll try,' Rogue said, crossing her fingers under the table.

Just then, Professor Xavier wheeled in.

'Oh, hi, Professor,' Rogue said automatically.

'Hello Rogue, Jubilee. Bobby, could I have a word? It'll only take a minute.'

'Um, okay,' Bobby said.

Rogue gave him a look but he only shrugged at her.

'What's that about?' Jubilee asked Rogue when the Professor and Bobby had left.

'No clue,' Rogue said.

Bobby came back about five minutes later.

'Well?' Rogue asked as Bobby sat back down.

'I'm not going with y'all today,' he said.

'Why not?' Rogue asked, completely confused.

'They need a babysitter. Peter's already been asked, but since he's still not an X-Man, the Professor wanted two of us and an X-Man. Drake's the next oldest and the Professor picked me for the X-Man.'

'That sucks,' Rogue said. 'I'll miss you,' she added.

'Yeah, well, kick some bad guys for me,' Bobby said.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed on until it was one. Rogue was in her room, just having put on her suit, when Bobby paid her another visit. The girls she shared the room with excused themselves and shut the door. Then they fought for room as they leaned on the door, like girls, and listened.

* * *

By now, all the X-Men were in Xavier's office. Everyone was in a suit, save Gambit and Beast. Beast had his own pair of black pants that he wore, but he preferred to be bare-chested, but he held a coat in his hands. Scott had been quieter than normal all day long, but he looked better to Logan than he had the night before. Rogue looked a bit sad; Logan guessed it was because of Bobby's absence. 

'Okay, now, you all know we're going to Canada. I hope everyone's seen what has happened to the collapsed dam we left. From what I retrieved from John's thoughts, that's where Magneto is headed. None of the scientists can determine what has happened. But I think I have a reason to believe that a mutant might have caused it. If someone can do that, I feel we need to meet them. We need to try and talk to them before anyone else can. I've located a mutant 10 miles from there with Logan. That may be our mutant. I believe Magneto is after the mutant as well. Who knows what he could do with a mutant that has that ability,' Charles said.

'And that's it. Storm, start up the Jet. We'll take off in three minutes,' Scott said, taking over.

Storm left to start the engine as the rest of them made sure they had everything they needed. Logan was flexing his claws, making sure his gloves had plenty of room for them. Gambit was counting his cards and checking all his pockets. Scott was checking his visor. Beast stretched his arms as Nightcrawler said a few Hail Mary's and Our Fathers in one corner. Rogue stood off to the side and watched everyone else.

'Why you so sad, mon cher?' Gambit asked, noticing her.

'What? Oh, it's nothing,' she said.

'You sure?' Gambit asked. 'It somethin' 'bout Bobby?'

'Something like that,' Rogue said.

'All right, let's go,' Scott said.

Scott and Storm took the controls. Xavier and Beast were seated behind them. Wolverine and Nightcrawler sat side-by-side each other behind Xavier. Gambit and Rogue sat behind them.

'So, how long should it take?' Gambit asked.

'It should take the rest of the day, unless Scott speeds,' Rogue told him.

'Ah, dat good. Might git mo' shut-eye,' Gambit said as he leaned back in the seat to get more comfortable.

'You know, I think you should think about wearing a suit,' Rogue said.

'Aou. Why dat?'

'Well, you know. We have some weird enemies and I wouldn't want ya to get hurt and all,' Rogue explained.

'Well, t'be honest wid ya, all th' tight leather's not to mah liking,' Gambit told her.

'Oh, well . . . just be careful, okay?' Rogue said, not knowing exactly where she was going with this.

'Anythin' fer you, ma cher,' Gambit said as Rogue blushed.

Some time passed. Gambit closed his eyes and Rogue heart light snores coming his way a few minutes later. She smiled and sifted more comfortably in her seat. Storm had set it to a rainy day again, the better to hide the jet from prying eyes. The _Blackbird_ cruised swiftly through the rain clouds.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's note:** Thanks very much for the two reviews!

Silent Doom: Thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to fix that and check and see if I didn't make another mistake on any of the other chapters as well. I could have sworn I spelled it "ma chere" in this chapter but it must have been in another one, lol.

Chica: Thanks very much :)

And onto the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Canada at a local bar-

'Are you 21?' a blonde haired bartender was asking two boys.

They looked young to her, but she had been through this numerous of times.

'Sure we are. Don't ya believe us?' the brown headed kid said.

'Let me see some ID then,' she said.

'Sure, he said as he and his friend flashed her some ID.

'Well . . .' the bartender said, looking at it closely. She looked at the date of birth. 'How old are you then?'

'21, like the sign said,' the boy replied, giving his friend beside him a wink.

'Really? Well then, why were you born in 1977? You'd be 26, right?'

The boy gulped. 'Um . . .'

'Out! Out right now!' she said, dropping her smile and friendly voice.

The boys ran out and down the alleyway.

'Retard! I told you we forgot something!' the second boy said.

'Well, we'll try someone else next time. Wait, what's that?' the first asked.

'What's what?'

'I heard something moving, over there in the alleyway.'

They both walked closer. A dumpster was usually back there. The second boy chose to linger a bit. As they got closer, they heard more movement. Until-

'Holy crap!' the first shouted as a huge fiery bird shot past them.

* * *

The _Blackbird_ landed a little after 6:30 p.m. in a dense forest. The darkness hid them along with the forest well. 

'So, we camp out here?' Gambit asked, having been awoken by the landing.

'We'll sleep in the Jet. The dam site is roughly fifteen miles from here. We'll look around, make sure no one knows we're here, and then set out early tomorrow morning for the site. Hopefully we'll be able to keep our presence unknown to the scientists and news reporters,' Scott said.

'How early we set out?' Gambit asked.

'Sunrise. Sleep well,' Scott said as he stood up and went to exit.

Charles had already pushed the button for the walking panel to open.

'I think it's best that I stay here. This environment doesn't go well with my wheelchair. Call me if you find anything,' he said as he touched his temple. 'I'll be waiting.'

Everyone then exited outside.

'Okay, pair up. Everyone has flashlights. You can push that top button to dim it and the other to brighten the light. You can all also thank Hank for the new inventions. Those that have watches, we'll meet up here again in thirty minutes,' Scott said. 'If you find anything or if you're in danger, contact the Professor immediately and someone will come find you.'

Storm and Nightcrawler teamed up. Wolverine wanted to go on his on, but Cyclops insisted he'd be in a group; so he picked Rogue and Gambit's. That left Cyclops and Beast. They then set out. Wolverine was still curing under his breath when they edged deeper into the forest.

'Not a word. An' turn off those damn things!' he growled as Rogue and Gambit hurried to turn their lights out. 'If someone is 'round they'd see th' lights before we seem 'em. Dunno why Summers didn' think o' somethin' else.'

Rogue and Gambit said nothing. Wolverine proceeded to start picking a trail through the snow. Gambit shivered slightly as he followed behind Rogue. Sure, his coat was a little shabby, but it was freaking freezing! He didn't complain though; he was far too busy keeping up with the others in the dark. Gambit tripped over a snow hidden limb and cursed to himself.

Wolverine didn't know any of this though, he could see perfectly clear as if it were day. His healing factor had already taken care of the numbness, but he still felt it dully in the back of his mind. He pushed away all that he was feeling and focused on everything else instead. The soft snow on the ground muffled his footsteps, but he could still hear Rogue and Gambit's footsteps faintly. Nothing to do about that. Only thin he was really worried about was the footprints they left behind.

* * *

Beast was very glad he had grabbed one of his coats before he had left the Mansion. He could see his and Scott's breath coming out in misty, white puffs. They had taken to the right and were now picking their way over limbs and fallen trees. Scott had his flashlight on, but it was on dim. He lead and Beast followed him. Beast decided that he liked Scott. The guy liked staying in control of things and Beast didn't blame him. He also seemed like a nice guy, once you got to know him, and if you knew not the cross him. The trees around them started growing thinner and Beast focused on the matter at hand. 

Soon, they were in a clearing. Scott took a good look around. He could see clear across to the other side because of the clouds that had moved away from the moon. Silver light swam down to the clearing, lighting it up. He studied the ground and looked for footsteps. There were some animal tracks here and there, but nothing else. He couldn't shake off the eerie feeling that he was being watched though. He was starting to not like this . . .

* * *

Storm and Nightcrawler hadn't found anything interesting either. They once spotted a doe, but that was about it. Storm could tell Nightcrawler was shivering. He had told her that he had been making a suit for himself, but it hadn't been ready when they left. So, now he had to make due with his normal clothes and jacket. Storm helped as beast as she could in her own way. She made a makeshift wind to counter-act the real wind, making the wind and snowflakes blow away from them. They were already turning back to the others, having not seen anything else, even when Nightcrawler had teleported to the top of a tall tree. They both knew they had to be close to the Jet when they heard a bush behind them shake. They spun around, but saw nothing as Storm shone her flashlight in that direction. Nightcrawler edged closer and finally came up close enough to see that no one was behind the bush but he did find- 

'Footsteps,' he whispered so low that Storm barely caught what he said.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Author's Note: Seem to be losing readers . . . :( Oh well, I'll finish this story whether I have 100 readers or just myself.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Gambit kept looking behind his back. He didn't know why, but something was making him jumpy. He was on the verge of lighting one of his cards, when he almost ran into Rogue.

Wolverine had stopped.

'Logan?' Rogue asked, uncertainly.

'Someone behind,' he murmured.

Gambit didn't hear him, but he was able to hear the sound of footsteps stopping. He whirled around, a card already in his hand, but he was too slow as the "someone" knocked him to the ground. He felt like he had run into a brick wall as it knocked the wind out of him. The figure went straight for Wolverine. Rogue leapt out of the way and went to Gambit.

'Are you okay?' she asked, reaching her hand out to help him; she had already turned on her flashlight.

'Yeah . . .' Gambit huffed as he took her hand. A card reappeared in his other hand, giving him light to see. 'What was dat?'

'Sabretooth,' Rogue said as she shone the light on the now all-out brawl.

'Him again!' gasped Gambit, massaging his chest.

'You? Don' you have anyone else t'pick on?' Wolverine complained as he and Sabretooth came out of each other's grips. 'Go!' he yelled back to Gambit and Rogue.

'You heard da man, cher,' Gambit said as he tried to push Rogue on.

'But . . .'

'Gambit t'inks you get da Professor. He help more dan us,' Gambit said.

Rogue agreed. She called out to the Professor as they made their way into a clearing.

* * *

Cyclops was about to turn his flashlight on full power when he suddenly saw two people emerge from the forest. 

'What the?' he asked, but instantly recognized Gambit's coat in the moonlight.

He waved the hand not holding the light in hopes that they would see him. Rogue looked uncertainly in their direction, but saw Beast's blue fur against the whiteness and she was sure it was them. Instead of walking right through the clearing, they ran around it where they met up with Cyclops.

'It's Logan again. Sabretooth's here,' Rogue panted.

'What!' Cyclops asked.

Rogue indicated with her finger where they had emerged.

'Okay. I'll try to get him. As back up, Hank, come with me. You two circle the other way. That way, if he spots one of us, we might have a chance of him running into the other,' Cyclops said.

Rogue and Gambit nodded and took off on the left. Cyclops and Hank proceeded to the right.

_Where's Storm and Kurt, Professor?_ Cyclops asked as they went closer.

_They've found some footprints. I've warned them to be on the lookout. They're safe . . . for now. Be careful, Cyclops_, the Professor voice echoed in Scott's head.

_Always, Professor,_ Cyclops thought back. He walked a little more and could see movement. He and Beast stopped short. Beast turned his flashlight on as Cyclops turned his off. Beast shone the light on the fight. Scott tried to see if he could aim a shot. Wolverine got a glimpse of him and, seeing his hand by his visor, knew what he was trying to do. He kept Sabretooth's attention on himself. When he saw the chance, Wolverine took a page out of Sabretooth's book and dug his six claws all the way up to his knuckles into Sabretooth's chest. Cyclops was aiming at his back, but he didn't mind. Wolverine shook his claws out just as Cyclops aimed two quick, powerful shots, sending Sabretooth flying and Wolverine lunging out of the way, just in time.

'Sure cut it close, bub,' Wolverine growled as he got back up, retracting his claws.

'Can't always prevent risks,' Cyclops said. 'Let's go find Storm and Nightcrawler.'

'An' leave 'im t'go report to Magneto?' Wolverine asked.

'We can't help it,. Someone already knows we're here anyway,' Cyclops said.

He then turned to meet up with Rogue and Gambit. Wolverine looked at Beast, but he only shrugged his shoulders and followed. Wolverine looked back and saw the skid marks Sabretooth had made, but couldn't see him from all the fallen trees. He let out a frustrated growl and slowly followed Cyclops.

'Did ya get him?' Rogue asked when they met up.

'He's unconscious at the moment,' Cyclops said.

'Ya so sure 'bout that?' Wolverine asked.

Cyclops ignored him. 'We have to find Storm and Nightcrawler now. Come on.'

Cyclops then started leading them. Rogue and Gambit followed behind him. Then it was Beast and Wolverine brought up the rear. It had been perhaps ten minutes that had passed, but Wolverine was already making his way closer to Cyclops. He finally got in front of Rogue and Gambit.

'Turn left on that trail,' Wolverine muttered to Cyclops.

'Why?'

''Cause I smell th' other two. But I think somethin's followin' us an' it ain't Sabretooth,' Wolverine said, his lips barely moving as he said the last sentence.

Cyclops gave him a side-ways look, but he was already making his way to the back again. Rogue gave him a quizzical look, but he didn't reply. Cyclops did turn left though. Wolverine knew Storm and Nightcrawler were getting closer now. He could still hear something behind them too though. If he just barely inches his head like he was looking back, it would stop. If he hadn't had such keen senses, he probably would have never noticed it. And it was with that thought that made him nervous.

_Hey Charley!_ He called out.

_Yes, Logan?_

_Do you know what th' hell is followin' us?_

_I've been sensing its presence for some time also, but I thought it might have been just me. I'm looking into it now._

After some silence, Logan thought he would never answer back.

_I . . . I don't know what it is. I think it's a mutant, but it's blocking me. As soon as you find the other two, come to the Jet immediately. I'm liking this less and less . . ._

_Yeah, me too,_ Logan thought back. He was sure Charles was telling the others the same thing. Rogue confirmed his thinking as she kind of glanced behind her and then started walking closer to Gambit. Soon, they did come upon Storm and Nightcrawler. Actually, they almost ran into them. When they stopped, Logan could sense the "something" come a little closer. It wasn't Sabretooth, he was very sure of that. He would have known if it was Magneto by now. Mystique? Well, she may have fooled him once or twice, but there wasn't no way she could black Charley from her mind, could she? He knew that both she and John could be wearing those devices, but still. It just didn't feel like Mystique and John always had a faint burnt scent about him, even if he wasn't aware of it.

'Thank the goddesses, it's you!' Storm said as she saw Scott.

'Why? What happened?' Scott asked.

'We found footprints right after we heard some movement behind a bush. They were very strange footprints, I've never seen them before. I looked up and all of the snow in the trees in front of me came crashing down on top of me. I didn't know so much snow could be on so few trees. I just froze because . . . because it was like being buried alive . . .' Storm drifted off, shivering in spite of herself.

'But I teleported her out of it. That is vhen ve saw vhat had made all the snow fall. I can't even explain it. It vas just total blackness,' Nightcrawler explained, expanding his arms to show how big it was.

'Where is it now?' Cyclops asked.

'I'm not sure. Kurt teleported again and we started running until we ran into you,' Storm said.

At that moment, the trees behind Logan started moving. The moon was covered with clouds, but he could sense whatever it was that had been behind them. It was now taking flight. He popped his claws. Rogue screamed. The sky was black, but now it was blacker. Beast shone his flashlight up at the same moment Cyclops had his hand on his visor. But the ting had already left, gone in a gust of smoke and ashes.


End file.
